LIBRARY 

OF  THE 

UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA. 

Gl  FT    OF 

L4~^^  

Class 


Cftp  I&ingDom  Come 


lungliom  Come 


A.  MANOW 
D 


CHICAGO 

M.  A.  LONG  BOOK  AND  PUBLISHING  HOUSE 
1907 


PYRIGHT,  1907, 

A.  MANOW 


JFtwt  Commanament  : 


Ci>e  Horn  tj)p  <$oto,  is  one  (Sot  ;  anU  tljou 
oivilt  lobe  tfcr  Hort  tftp  *goti,  totti)  th?  taholr 
Ijeart,  toitl)  t|)p  toljole  jsoul,  anU  toitl)  tl)p 
minU»" 


And  no  one  knoweth  The  Son,  but  The  Father; 
neither  doth  any  one  know  The  Father,  but  The 
Son:  and  he  to  whom  it  shall  please  The  Son,  to 
reveal  Him." 


''For  now  I  see  Thee,  face  to  face, 
And  know  that  I  am  saved  by  Christ." 


THY  KINGDOM  COME 


"In  Him  was  life,  and  the  life  was  the  light 
of  man." 

THIS  record  of  facts,  of  the  actual  expe- 
rience of  the  abundance  of  life,  held  out 
to  mankind,  even  to  repentant  sinners, 
beginning  with  a  God-given  power  to  believe 
and  trust  in  Christ,  the  belief  changed  to 
knowledge  by  the  manifestation  of  the  Lord, 
is  written  with  the  hope  of  helping  some 
sinner  who,  perhaps  like  me,  has  allowed 
the  fire  of  sin  to  lower  him  soul  and 
body;  who  has  been  overcome  by  the  enemy 
that  leaves  his  trail  of  darkness,  blinding  men, 
hardening  their  hearts,  quenching  the  light 
that  is  in  them,  and  striving  for  the  rule  of 
the  flesh  and  the  subjection  and  ultimate  de- 
struction of  the  soul. 

The  day  came,  however,  when  I  awoke  to 
7 


8  THY   KINGDOM   COME. 

the  realization  of  my  position,  a  "servant  of 
sin,"  and  I  longed  to  "be  free,"  and  "sin  no 
more,"  for  I  had  been  brought  up  to  believe 
in  Christ,  and  even  had  a  parrot-like  knowl- 
edge of  the  Gospel,  although  the  darkness 
within  was  placing  obstructions  before  me  in 
my  endeavor  to  find  "The  Way;"  even  taking 
the  so-called  divisions  in  the  good  Shepherd's 
fold  as  a  means  of  puzzling  and  blinding  me 
to  the  fact  that  the  Lord  said :  "Wheresoever 
two  of  you  are  gathered  together  in  My  Name 
there  also  am  I." 

Through  reading  the  opinions  of  many 
writers  on  religion  and  science,  I  arrived  at 
the  conclusion  that  it  would  be  well  to  know — 
not  what  some  one  thought,  but  rather  to 
know — the  TRUTH.  Since  then  my  conscious- 
ness has  been  awakened  to  the  knowledge  that 
the  Lord  taught :  "I  AM  THE  WAY,  AND 
THE  TRUTH,  AND  THE  LIFE:  NO 
MAN  COMETH  TO  THE  FATHER  BUT 
BY  ME." 

At  last  the  time  came  when  it  was  given  me 
to  choose  the  Christ,  as  the  Preacher,  in  whom 


THY  KINGDOM   COME.  9 

I  should  place  my  trust;  THE  ONE  upon 
whom  I  should  call  to  defend  me,  sinner 
though  I  was :  that  I  should  endeavor  to  learn 
what  the  DIVINE  REDEEMER  preached 
and  make  an  effort  to  keep  the  Lord's  com- 
mandments. 

It  is  not  my  intention  to  criticise  the  meth- 
ods of  the  men  who  are  sent  to  preach  Christ's 
Gospel ;  who  labor  in  the  vineyard ;  who  go 
about  feeding  the  lambs  and  the  sheep.  The 
TRUTH  to  which  I  am  endeavoring  to  call 
attention  is  that  the  Lord,  in  building  His 
Church,  calls  souls — by  personal  invitation  to 
the  individual — directly  to  GOD,  to  THE 
GOOD  SHEPHERD'S  MANIFESTED 
CARE. 

The  Christ  instructs  us  to  worship  in  spirit, 
and  in  truth;  for  "GOD  IS  A  SPIRIT,  and 
they  who  adore  Him  must  adore  Him  in  spirit 
and  in  truth.  The  Lord  requires  mankind  to 
pray  "for  the  glory  of  GOD  alone,  and  not 
for  the  glory  of  men,"  and  requests  us  to  heed 
the  personal  invitation.  "But  thott,  when  thou 
shalt  pray,  enter  into  thy  chamber,  and  having 


10  THY   KINGDOM   COME. 

shut  the  door,  pray  to  the  Father,  in  secret ;" 
you  therefore  shall  pray  in  this  manner :  "Our 
Father,  who  art  in  Heaven,  hallowed  be  Thy 
Name;  Thy  Kingdom  come,"  etc.  The  Lord 
desires  us  to  "seek  the  Kingdom,"  for  we  are 
instructed  to  "Seek  ye  first  the  Kingdom  of 
God,  and  His  justice."  "Ask,  and  you  shall 
receive;  seek,  and  you  shall  find;  knock,  and 
it  shall  be  opened  to  you." 

Having  progressed  thus  far  in  the  study  of 
the  Gospel — without  the  real  understanding  of 
the  spiritual  meaning  of  it  all,  which  did  not 
come  until  later  and  when  "THE  SPIRIT, 
who  breatheth  where  He  will,"  had  come,  I 
chanced  to  read  a  little  article  written  by  some 
struggling  soul,  in  which  the  opinion  was  set 
forth  that  it  might  be  probable  that  the  history 
of  the  Christ  was  a  beautiful  ideal  of  the 
imagination. 

THE  DEITY  OF  CHRIST  I  had  never 
doubted.  In  reading  the  Gospel,  sufficient 
light  had  been  given  me  to  see  that  the  Christ 
was  different  from  man ;  today  I  have  been 


THY   KINGDOM   COME.  11 

trained  to  KNOW  that  the  measure  of  that 
difference  is 

THE  CREATOR,  AND  THE  CREATED. 

While  reading  on  this  subject,  however,  I 
permitted  the  views  expressed  by  the  writer  to 
frighten  me;  I  allowed  myself  to  think  (for- 
getting that  the  thought  imperiled  my  most 
precious  and  treasured  possession — faith  in 
Christ)  that  it  might  be  only  a  most  beautiful 
story  of  the  imagination,  conceived  in  the 
mind  of  man,  of  the  one  perfect  ideal.  Then, 
as  I  stood  before  a  picture  of  the  Savior  of 
mankind  and  asked  of  the  One  whom  the  por- 
trait represented  if  the  story  was  true,  ac- 
knowledging before  GOD  that  I  had  sinned, 
and  that  it  rested  with  GOD  IN  CHRIST 
alone  whether  my  soul  should  ever  see  resur- 
rection and  whether  I  should  ever  be  "born 
again"  and  see  "everlasting  life."  Through 
the  power  of  the  Lord,  the  answer  was  given 
me;  to  me,  a  sinner,  the  Spirit  was  sent,  and 
through  His  manifestation  I  realized  and  know 


12  THY  KINGDOM   COME. 

today  that  the  thought  of  THE  CHRIST 
originated  in  THE  MIND  OF  GOD. 

One  morning  I  heard  a  sharp  tap  at  my 
window,  but  on  looking  there  saw  no  one. 
This  was  repeated  on  several  occasions  and 
at  last  aroused  in  me  sufficient  wonder  to 
cause  me  to  speak  of  the  occurrence  to  the 
people  in  the  house,  who  became  rather 
indignant  ^at  what  they  considered  an  insinua- 
tion on  my  part  that  the  house,  a  modern 
home,  was  haunted,  an  idea  which  gave  me 
much  surprise.  Although  a  believer  in  Christ 
and,  through  the  Savior's  redeeming  power, 
the  spirit  life  of  mankind,  the  idea  of  a  spirit 
visitant  to  an  ordinary  western  home  made 
little  impression  on  me. 

Going  into  the  sitting  room  one  morning 
to  read  a  novel,  which  seemingly  had  no  ex- 
cuse for  its  circulation,  save  that  it  ministered 
to  the  pampering  of  the  flesh,  the  tapping  was 
repeated  at  one  of  the  windows  but,  deciding 
that  the  rapping  was  caused  by  something  in 
the  arrangement  of  the  casements,  my  slight 
fears  were  soon  quieted. 


THY   KINGDOM   COME.  13 

Another  morning,  when  I  should  have 
arisen  early  and  taken  up  the  cross  instead  of 
neglecting-  my  duty,  I  heard  a  succession  of 
sharp,  quick  tapping  right  before  a  box  of 
Jerusalem  wood  containing  A  CRUCIFIX. 
Upon  arising  the  warning  ceased  for  the  time, 
leaving  me  no  longer  either  doubtful  or  afraid, 
but  sure  that  it  was  a  communication  from 
some  ONE  not  visible  to  me;  and  that  I  was 
being  reproved  by  a  SPIRIT.  Afterwards, 
when  in  danger  of  falling  into  sin,  the  Spirit 
always  warned  and  reproved  me. 

Shortly  before  the  occurrence  just  alluded 
to  I  met  a  singer  in  whom  I  took  an  unfortu- 
nate interest.  The  singer  was  married  and 
only  the  thought  of  the  Lord's  commandment, 
and  the  desire  to  stand  at  night  to  say  the 
Lord's  prayer,  held  me  from  yielding  to  the 
suggestions  of  darkness  that  the  singer,  mar- 
ried or  single,  might  be  had.  If  I  had  sinned 
deeply  before  this,  the  sins  it  seemed  to  me 
were  always — of  I  preferred  to  think  they  had 
been — under  the  impulse  of  fire  in  darkness 
and  in  moments  of  weak,  unguarded  thought- 


14  THY   KINGDOM   COME. 

lessness ;  while  this  looked  different  to  me, 
deliberately  premeditated — a  sinful  life  chosen. 
Still  I  persisted,  in  spite  of  better  instruc- 
tions, in  allowing  my  thoughts  to  dwell  on,  and 
in  going  once  more  to  where  that  singer  was. 
Then  the  Spirit,  whose  care  was  enfolding  me, 
insisted  on  a  different  line  of  conduct,  even 
appearing  to  weep  for  me. 

The  Spirit,  of  whose  Name  I  was  uncon- 
scious, but  whose  beautiful  lineaments  irresisti- 
bly reminded  me  of  CHRIST,  of  GOD,  com- 
manded, and  insisted  upon  by  that  very  com- 
mand, submission  on  my  part  to  a  preservation 
from  evil ;  and  also  revealed  to  me  in  the  fol- 
lowing manner  what  the  sin  would  mean  to  me  : 

After  retiring  one  night  I  heard  a  noise  at 
the  window.  Upon  seeking  the  cause,  I  dis- 
covered that  a  ladder  had  been  placed  up  to  the 
window,  which  was  being  opened  by  some  one 
like  the  singer.  A  line  was  thrown  in  which 
I  grasped  and  would  have  been  drawn  out 
had  I  not  been  stopped  by  thought.  I  seemed 
to  be  impressed  with  the  recollection  that  the 
one  at  the  window,  in  the  guise  of  a  robber, 


THY   KINGDOM   COME.  15 

carried  an  instrument  of  death.  Under  the 
force  of  that  remembrance  and  in  obedience 
to  some  compelling  POWER  I  was  impelled 
to  drop  the  line,  deciding  not  to  go;  the 
window  was  closed,  and  the  TRUTH,  the 
remembrance  of  GOD'S  WORD,  was  brought 
to  my  mind:  "The  thief  cometh  not  but  to 
steal,  and  to  kill,  and  to  destroy :"  "The  devil 
was  a  robber,  and  a  murderer,  from  the  be- 
ginning :  and  he  abode  not  in  the  TRUTH : 
because  TRUTH  is  not  in  him :  when  he 
speaketh  a  lie,  he  speaketh  of  his  own :  for 
he  is  a  liar,  and  the  father  thereof." 

Very  well  do  I  understand  that  the  Spirit 
was  keeping  me  from  the  murderer;  some 
IMMORTAL,  who  was  good  and  kind,  was 
directing  me — a  poor,  obscure  sinner;  some 
ONE,  whose  wonderful,  watchful  care  in- 
stinctively brought  WORDS  that  I  had  read, 
to  my  recollection. 

"Let  him  who  seeketh,  not  cease  in  his 
search,  until  he  find,  and  he  shall  wonder: 
wondering  he  shall  reach  the  Kingdom,  and 
then  he  shall  have  rest." 


16  THY  KINGDOM   COME. 

Interiorly,  and  exteriorly,  I  was  warned, 
and  reproved,  and  shown  the  nature  of  the 
sin  in  me;  far  more  and  better  care  was  be- 
stowed on  my  soul  by  ANOTHER  than  I 
would  ever  have  thought  of  expending  on  that 
soul  myself;  until  at  last  I  begged  that  I 
might  understand  who  was  commanding  me ; 
for  it  was  possible  for  me,  with  all  my  early 
training  and  my  short  study  of  the  Gospel, 
to  not  know  that 

THE  LORD  PROMISED: 

"If  you  love  Me,  keep  My  commandments : 
and  I  will  ask  the  Father,  and  He  shall  give 
you  another  Paraclete,  that  He  may  abide 
with  you  forever." 

"The  Spirit  of  Truth,  whom  the  world  can- 
not receive,  because  it  seeth  Him  not,  nor 
knoweth  Him :  but  you  shall  know  Him :  be- 
cause He  shall  abide  with  you,  and  shall  be 
in  you." 

"I  WILL  NOT  LEAVE  YOU  OR- 
PHANS: I  WILL  COME  TO  YOU:" 

"He    that    hath    My    commandments,    and 


Commanded  to  The  Supper.    One  of  the  "Many,  for  whose  redemp- 
tion, the  Lord  and  Savior  Jesus  Christ's  blood  was 


UNIVERSITY 

or 


THY  KINGDOM   COME.  19 

keepeth  them,  he  it  is  that  loveth  Me:  and 
he  that  loveth  Me,  shall  be  loved  by  My 
Father,  and  I  will  love  him,  and  will  manifest 
Myself  to  him :"  "We  will  come  to  him,  and 
make  OUR  abode  with  him." 

"When  the  Paraclete,  the  Holy  Ghost,  is 
come,  whom  the  Father  will  send  in  My 
Name,  He  will  teach  you  all  things,  and  bring 
to  your  mind,  whatsoever  I  shall  have  said  to 
you." 

The  Spirit  of  Truth  appeared  before  the 
Crucifix  and  graciously  gave  assurance  of  the 
glory  of  the  Christ,  as  the  Redeemer  of  man- 
kind. 

The  Paraclete  showed  me  a  large  dark  cross 
and  to  my  hearing  was  brought  the  sound  of 
voices  crying — "Crucify  HIM,  crucify  HIM" 
— and  then  there  was  a  FORM  on  that  cross 
from  which  THE  LIGHT  shone  out. 

The  Holy  Ghost  "convinced  me  of  my  sins" 
and  their  effect  on  my  soul ;  "convinced"  me 
that  I  had  placed  MONEY  before  THE 
LORD;  that  I  had  "lifted  my  heel"  against 
COMMANDS,  permitting  "fire"  to  enter, 


20  THY  KINGDOM   COME. 

"seeing  death"  by  sinning  in  the  flesh  in  pref- 
erence to  keeping  THE  LORD'S  COM- 
MANDMENT. And  daily  the  Paraclete  re- 
minds me — an  humble  sinner — one  indeed  of 
the  least  ones — of  the  mighty  Gospel  the  Lord 
preached  to  mankind  nineteen  centuries  ago. 

The  Spirit  of  Truth  disclosed  to  me  a  long 
row  of  the  Father's  ''many  mansions,"  one 
apparently  more  beautiful  than  all  the  others. 

Trained  to  go  "unto  Him ;"  given  the  power 
by  God  to  believe;  baptized  in  "the  Name  of 
the  Father  and  of  the  Son  and  of  the  Holy 
Ghost ;"  a  little  one  had  received  an  invitation 
to  the  Heavenly  Feast,  and  therefore  being 
child  of  Resurrection,  child  of  God,  while  in- 
nocent, was  received  in  the  most  beautiful 
mansion.  But  I  sinned  and  sank  in  darkness 
out  of  the  abode  of  purity,  of  Life.  Repent- 
ance came  and  saw  me  received  in  one  of  the 
Father's  mansions ;  but  farther  away  down 
that  row,  sin  again,  again  cast  out;  once 
more  repentant,  and  once  more  received  in 
one  of  Our  Father's  mansions,  but  always  far- 
ther awav — farther  down — until  I  reached  the 


THY  KINGDOM   COME.  21 

last  one,  the  last  stand.  Then  the  Paraclete 
warned  me  to  "sin  no  more."  Through  Di- 
vine forgiveness  and  power  I  can  share  in 
man's  "redemption,"  purchased  by  the  "shed- 
ding of  the  Savior's  blood,"  and  the  Lord, 
IN  THE  GLORY  OF  THE  HEAVENLY  FATHER, 
will  receive  me  in  the  most  beautiful  mansion, 
and  in  the  state  of  innocence. 

Like  the  man  of  old,  I  too  have  seen  hand- 
writing on  the  wall  in  letters  as  of  fire ;  but 
the  message  was  that  there  is  "ONE  GOD." 
Other  words  there  were,  too,  in  that  message, 
one  of  which  was  "MINE" — and  I  know  that 
THE  ONE,  who  said: 

"I  am  The  Good  Shepherd,  and  I  know 
Mine,  and  Mine  know  ME:"  has  claimed  me 
as  His  sheep,  His  child. 

Because  God  is  good,  man  has  beheld  HIM, 
manifested  as  FLESH,  called  "THE 
CHRIST,  THE  SON,  THE  TEMPLE  OF 
THE  SPIRIT  GOD;"  as  FLESH,  that  "de- 
scended from  Heaven,  THAT  HAD  THE 
POWER  TO  BE  TRANSFIGURED."  The 
Temple  which — although  laid  down  for  man- 


22  THY  KINGDOM   COME. 

kind,  SAW  RESURRECTION,  was  "Built 
up  again  in  three  days"  by  "the  Lord." 
"Destroy  this  Temple,  and  in  three  days  I 
will  build  it  up  again."  "This  is  the  living 
Bread,  which  cometh  down  from  Heaven:  if 
any  man  eat  of  this  Bread,  he  shall  live  for- 
ever: and  the  Bread,  which  I  shall  give  is 
My  Flesh,  for  the  life  of  the  world:" 

"And  no  man  hath  ascended  into  Heaven, 
but  HE  that  descended  from  Heaven :  THE 
SON  OF  MAN,  WHO  IS  IN  HEAVEN: 
he  that  believeth  in  HIM,  is  not  judged;  but 
he  that  doth  not  believe,  is  already  judged:" 
"And  this  is  the  judgment:  because  The  Light 
is  come  into  the  world,  and  men  loved  dark- 
ness rather  than  The  Light,  for  their  works 
are  evil :  for  every  one  that  doth  evil,  hateth 
The  Light,  and  cometh  not  to  The  Light,  that 
his  works  may  be  reproved :  but  he  that  doth 
truth,  cometh  to  The  Light,  that  his  works 
may  be  made  manifest,  because  they  are  done 
in  GOD." 

If  we  follow  the  correct  meaning  of  some 
articles  written  by  men  of  the  present  time, 


THY  KINGDOM   COME.  23 

it  seems  there  may  be  men  in  this  twentieth 
century  of  Truth  whom  darkness  is  endeavor- 
ing to  blind  to  such  an  extent  as  to  render 
them  capable  of  seeming  to  call  THE  LORD 
JESUS  CHRIST,  SON  of  David,  and  Abra- 
ham; when  THE  WORD  OF  GOD  teaches 
us  that :  "David  in  spirit,  called  HIM  LORD : 
how  then  is  HE,  his  SON :  "Before  Abraham 
was  made,  "I  AM:"  "THE  LORD  THY 
GOD." 

One  day  I  attended  a  meeting  in  a  Jewish 
Synagogue,  not  from  any  desire  to  learn  their 
ritual,  but  just  to  see  those  people  whom  THE 
HEAVENLY  KING  visited,  as  our  DIVINE 
SAVIOR. 

I  listened  to  them  praying  to  the  Heavenly 
Father  to  let  The  Light  of  His  Shining  Coun- 
tenance shine  upon  them,  and  then  went  to  a 
place  where  it  has  pleased  the  Good  Shepherd 
to  be  manifested  to  some  of  HIS  sheep.  To 
"one  of  the  least  ones,"  many  times  in  THE 
SPIRIT  has  it  pleased  the  Lord  to  be  made 
manifest— and  through  HIS  SHINING 
COUNTENANCE,  to  reveal  THE  HEAV- 


24  THY  KINGDOM   COME. 

ENLY  FATHER ;  but  here,  where  the  Lord 
has  chosen  to  take  up  His  abode  with  His 
sheep,  GOD  has  evidently  made  use  of  a  ma- 
terial object  to  reveal  a  Spiritual  Reflection 
of  THE  RADIANT  LINEAMENTS  of 
THE  LORD  JESUS  CHRIST,  visible  to 
even  the  material  eye — when  it  so  pleases  the 
Lord.  I  see  THAT  SHINING  COUNTE- 
NANCE, and  as  it  has  pleased  the  Lord  to 
reveal  THE  HEAVENLY  FATHER  to  me, 
I  know  that  I  see  THE  FACE  OF  GOD. 

And  I  can  also  remember — if  we  but  under- 
stood— how  plainly  all  this  was  taught  to  man. 

"THE  FATHER  AND  I  ARE  ONE:  if 
you  had  known  ME,  you  would  have  known 
MY  FATHER  ALSO:  AND  FROM 
HENCEFORTH  YOU  SHALL  KNOW 
HIM  :  AND  YOU  HAVE  SEEN  HIM  :" 

"Have  I  been  so  long  a  time  with  you,  and 
have  you  not  known  ME :  HE  WHO  SEETH 
ME,  SEETH  THE  FATHER  ALSO." 

Once,  on  beholding  that  Shining  Counte- 
nance, I  dared  to  ask  of  the  Lord  why  so 
much  was  done  for  me ;  another  expression 


THY  KINGDOM   COME.  25 

shone  out  from  the  Lord's  Holy  Lineaments, 
plainly  "revealing  the  Heavenly  Father :" 

Go,  "Seek  the  Lord,"  and  see  for  yourself 
what  that  revealing  expression  is. 

Forgiveness  sufficient  to  treat  "a  prodigal" 
as  "the  pure  of  heart,"  seems  to  have  been 
given  me ;  but  I  bear  the  punishment  of  past 
transgressions  in  their  present  effect;  for  the 
darkness  still  would  endeavor  to  control  and 
seek  to  suggest  the  formation  of  thoughts;  at 
v,  hich  Those  Divine  Eyes  close  and  command 
mine  to  be  lowered.  The  expression  of  My 
Heavenly  Father  is  then  the  expression  of  the 
Lord  and  Savior,  sorrowful  for,  and  sternly  re- 
proving my  darkness  and,  partly  hidden  from 
my  sight  by  the  dark  reflection  of  the  face  of 
my  fallen  soul ;  looking  on  that  dark  reflection, 
I  can  understand  the  need  of  and  the  hope  for 
fallen  mankind  in  those  promises: 

"I  am  The  Resurrection,  and  The  Life;  if 
you  believe  in  Me,  although  you  be  dead,  yet 
shall  you  live :" 

"Unless   a   man   be   born   again    of    living 


26  THY   KINGDOM    COME. 

water,  and  the  Holy  Ghost,  he  cannot  enter 
into  the  Kingdom  of  God." 

Are  there  any  of  the  people  who  do  not  see 
the  Lord?  It  was  promised  that  "They  who 
seek,  shall  find." 

Surely  none  of  you  are  too  busy — "Buying 
a  farm,  or  a  yoke  of  oxen,  or  marrying  a  wife" 
to  heed  the  "COMMAND  TO  THE  SUP- 
PER." Even  children  weary  of  toys,  and 
gilded  baubles,  and  thirst  for  knowledge. 

There  IS  ONE  who  said: 

"IF  ANY  MAN  THIRST,  LET  HIM 
COME  TO  ME  AND  DRINK:" 

Go  "SEEK,  TO  ENTER  THE  KING- 
DOM:" "SEEK,  TO  FIND:"  "THE  LORD 
OF  THE  KINGDOM." 

By  many  more  signs  it  has  pleased  the 
Lord  to  bless  and  reprove  me.  I  was 
shown  a  beautiful  home  in  which  a  great  feast 
was  prepared.  Numerous  little  relations, 
manly  lads  and  innocent  young  girls,  were 
invited  and  had  arrived.  They  saw  the  beau- 
tiful banquet  spread,  they  knew  the  music 
prepared  for  them,  in  which  a  heavenly  choir 


THY   KINGDOM   COME.  27 

would  join  in  singing  glad  hosannas  to  Our 
King,  WHO  CAME  AS  CHRIST  THE 
LORD.  But  many  of  the  young  people,  I 
among  the  number,  leaving  the  music  silent, 
the  song  unsung,  the  Supper  forgotten,  wan- 
dered out  among  the  fields,  into  the  world, 
until  they  came  to  the  edge  of  what  seemed 
like  a  grave  or  pit,  into  which  they  curiously 
LOOKED  DOWN.  I  got  too  near  the  brink, 
and  tumbled  in,  swiftly  descending,  realizing 
no  more  until  I  reached  the  LAST  STAND- 
ING PLACE.  The  thin  crust  of  standing 
ground  beneath  rocked  and  shook,  coming  up 
in  places,  through  the  pressure  of  what  ap- 
peared to  be  a  heaving  lake.  I  seemed  in 
danger  of  being  shaken  from  my  standing 
place  and  submerged  at  any  moment.  Was 
that  lake  a  sea  of  gas  ?  There  is  fire  in  gas ; 
but  it  might  have  been  water — and  there  is 
fire  in  water.  Then  I  realized  the  danger ;  AT 
THE  LAST  THIN  CRUST  OF  STAND- 
ING GROUND— IN  THE  DEPTHS,  LIKE- 
LY TO  BE  PLUNGED  INTO  A  SEA  OF 
FIRE. 


28  THY  KINGDOM   COME. 

Looking  up  at  the  bank  I  saw  my  former 
companions.  They  looked  down  on  me  and 
smiled.  I  did  not  think  of  asking  of  them 
either  pity  or  help ;  nor  for  an  extension  of 
what  was  mine  by  right — the  HAND  OF 
BROTHERHOOD;  nor  suspended  judgment 
of  those  who  did  not  have  the  right  TO 
JUDGE.  I  LOOKED  UP  HIGHER.  I 
THOUGHT  OF  THE  LORD  AND  MAS- 
TER OF  MEN,  WHOSE  COMMAND  TO 
THE  FEAST  I  HAD  BROKEN  -  -  I 
CALLED  ON  CHRIST  TO  DEFEND  ME. 

How  truly  can  I  say  with  my  brother  of 
centuries  ago,  "Out  of  the  depths  have  I  cried 
unto  Thee,  O  Lord ;"  AND  THOU,  O  LORD, 
HAST  HEARD  MY  VOICE.  Looking  up 
out  of  these  depths  where  sin  has  placed  me; 
higher  still  than  where  my  happy  brothers  are 
— afar,  high  up  in  the  Heavens,  I  behold  A 
RADIANT  FACE,  one  glance  of  whose  shin- 
ing Eye  tells  me  all  my  sins ;  ONE  that  looks 
at  me  in  kindness,  in  sorrow  for  my  sins,  in 
urgent,  insistent  command ;  that  can  even  look 
stern;  but  always  in  loving  helpfulness. 


THY   KINGDOM   COME.  31 

On  earth,  through  "the  power  of  the  Lord/' 
in  the  unfolding  of  a  higher  expression  of 
GOD'S  law,  through  the  operation  of  the 
SPIRIT,  the  Father  in  Christ  has  been  mani- 
fested to  me ;  and  when  the  grave  closes  in 
over  this  flesh,  in  the  Resurrection  I  know  I 
shall  see  GOD  IN  CHRIST,  in  Heaven. 

Among  those  who  were  shown  me  wander- 
ing from  the  Feast,  the  Lord  revealed  one 
(type  of  many)  ;  a  beautiful,  fair  young  girl 
v,  ho,  in  her  journey  through  the  fields,  had  un- 
consciously reached  the  edge  of  the  abyss. 
With  sweet,  fair,  light-illumined  face,  there 
she  stood  on  the  brink  of  the  pit,  looking  smil- 
ingly down,  entirely  unconscious  that  one  false 
step  might  plunge  her  in  the  depths.  The 
good  Shepherd  chose  that  that  young  white 
sheep  of  His  should  not  sink  and  was  pleased 
to  call  her  back,  sending  to  her  a  message 
through  a  "vessel"  which,  however  weak,  was 
still  "a  vessel  of  election."  She  heard  His 
command ;  answered  with  obedience,  and  is 
safely  sheltered  in  "His  Hand." 

"For  My  sheep  hear  My  Voice  and  they 


32  THY  KINGDOM   COME. 

follow  Me ;  and  no  man  can  take  them  out  of 
My  Hand." 

But  she  was  shown  as  type  of  many  who 
seemed  to  be  walking  in  the  fields,  the  world, 
ever  drawing  nearer  to  the  line  which  once 
passed  leads  downward. 

The  Lord  has  shown  me  that  I  can  carry 
a  message,  can  call  a  warning  to  those  broth- 
ers, and  especially  to  those  young  sisters  who 
have  left  the  Supper  and  are  drifting  toward 
slumber;  unconsciously  LOOKING  DOWN 
and  wandering  toward  the  murderer  in  the  pit. 

Down  there  you  will  see  the  effect  of  the 
murderer,  the  devil,  on  humanity ;  you  will  see 
the  being  with  higher  consciousness  and  con- 
science asleep ;  there  you  may  see  the  sinner, 
who  would  feed  the  flesh,  and  starve  the  soul ; 
you  will  see  the  murderer  of  virtue,  who  be- 
trays virtue  with  honeyed  words  and  Judas 
kisses;  who  exchanges  soiled  coin  for  broken 
commandments;  there  you  will  find  the  traf- 
ficker in  slaves,  and  the  slave  (both  slaves) 
dealing  in  a  slave  trade  more  horrible  than 
was  the  colored  slavery,  slave  dealer  and  slave 


THY  KINGDOM   COME.  33 

held  in  a  bondage,  compared  with  which  the 
colored  slave  was  free ;  there  you  are  in  danger 
of  a  plunge  into  fire :  "WHERE  THE  WORM 
DIETH  NOT  AND  THE  FIRE  IS  NOT 
EXTINGUISHED."  Leave  the  brink  of  the 
pit,  and  LOOK  UP. 

"Seek  the  Lord  of  the  Supper— THE  DE- 
FENDER OF  SOULS,  of  humanity.  "For 
every  one  that  seeketh,  findeth ;  he  who  asketh, 
receiveth:  and  to  him  who  knocketh,  it  shall 
be  opened." 

"Find"  the  Lord,  then  you  can  KNOW,  as 
well  as  believe,  that  GOD,  OUR  HEAVEN- 
LY FATHER  THROUGH  CHRIST,  IS  A 
SPIRIT  WHO  CAME  TO  MAN  AS  THE 
CHRIST  AND  GUIDES  US  NOW  AS  THE 
HOLY  GHOST,  AND  IS  ONE  GOD. 

What  does  the  universe,  and  Heaven,  offer 
to  man  in  comparison  with  n  view  of  THE 
FACE  OF  GOD? 

"Blessed  are  the  pure  in  heart,  for  they 
shall  see  GOD." 

"And  why  take  ye  thought  for  raiment? 
Consider  the  lilies  of  the  field  how  they  grow : 


34  THY   KINGDOM   COME. 

they  toil  not,  neither  do  they  spin,  and  yet  I 
say  unto  you,  that  not  even  Solomon  in  all 
his  glory  was  arrayed  as  one  of  these :  there- 
fore if  God  so  clothe  the  grass  of  the  field 
which  is  of  today,  and  tomorrow  is  cast  into 
the  oven,  how  much  shall  He  clothe  you." 

We  are  told  that  we  see  around  us  every- 
where the  manifestations  of  God.  We  know, 
for  Christ  taught  us  that  although  "His  King- 
dom is  not  of  this  world,"  "God  makes  the  sun 
to  shine,  and  the  rain  to  fall."  The  Lord  also 
taught  us :  "If  God  so  clothe  the  grass  of  the 
field,  the  lilies,  which  are  of  today  and  tomor- 
row are  cast  into  the  oven ;  how  much  more 
will  He  clothe  you."  Certainly  then  those  of 
whom  it  may  be  said,  "The  Kingdom  is  with- 
in," should  "seek"  for  a  higher  manifestation 
than  the  beauty  of  the  perishable.  The  Lord 
has  promised  those  who  are  in  the  image  of 
His  Lineaments  a  manifestation  of  the  Divine 
Countenance. 

Has  the  Lord  taken  up  His  abode  with  you  ? 
Do  you  see  His  Face  ?  Are  you  in  His  person- 
ally manifested  care? 


THY  KINGDOM   COME.  37 

Do  you  see  your  Heavenly  Father  revealed 
through  the  features  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ, 
manifested  to  you  in  The  Divine  Personal  In- 
dividuality ? 

Are  you  guided  daily  by  God's  Holy  Spirit 
of  Truth,  and  shown  the  true  state  of  your 
own  soul  ? 

When  you  are  in  danger  of  sin,  are  you 
immediately  reproved,  and  preserved  from  evil, 
and  on  looking  to  see  your  Deliverer,  do  you 
indeed  behold  the  Lord;  the  same  God  in  the 
same  Christ,  teaching  to  you  the  very  Gospel 
taught  to  mankind  nineteen  hundred  years 
ago ;  the  same  glorified  Savior ;  the  Lord  you 
know  so  very  well  from  the  impression  made 
by  the  study  of  His  Word? 

Have  you  gone  "seeking  for  the  Lord"  and 
"the  Kingdom  of  God?" 

Surely  you  to  whom  "much  is  given"  of 
whom  "much  shall  be  required"  should  seek 
the  Giver. 

To  one  who  actually  knew  very  little  of  the 
Father's  wondrous  plan  of  life  for  mankind ; 
to  me,  a  fallen  sheep,  who  understood  so  very 


38  THY  KINGDOM   COME. 

little  of  the  Gospel  of  Christ,  the  Kingdom 
has  been  opened.  While  yet  "Afar,  the  Heav- 
enly Father  saw  a  prodigal,"  saw  me  wander- 
ing naked  and  ashamed,  cold  and  despised; 
and  then  the  good  Shepherd  clothed  me  in 
the  "clothing  of  His  sheep ;"  even  sending  the 
Paraclete,  who  brought  me  to  the  Door  of 
the  Kingdom.  There,  it  has  pleased  the 
Heavenly  Father  to  permit  me  to  see  other 
sheep  in  the  various  congregations,  who  stand 
with  heads  bowed  in  reverent  acknowledgment 
at  that  Door — the  Lord  Jesus  Christ — through 
Whom  they  are  entering  into  the  Kingdom. 
The  Heavenly  Father  has  also  (in  answer  to 
my  desire  to  be  allowed  to  go  out  and  see  His 
harvest  fields)  given  me  the  pleasure  of  view- 
ing His  great  spiritual  wheat  fields  in  spirit. 

On  earth,  "God's  Footstool,"  in  the  home 
of  my  parents,  I  have  stood  among  the  wheat 
fields  on  the  northwestern  plains  and  have  seen 
the  white  wheat  which  God  creates  for  man- 
kind's daily  bread,  grow  up  from  seed  planted 
in  the  rich  prairie  soil ;  have  seen  the  times  of 
clouds  and  rain  during  the  growth  of  that 


THY  KINGDOM   COME.  39 

grain ;  and  have  been  brought  to  see  the  abso- 
lute necessity  of  the  bright  sunlight  which 
God  causes  "His  sun"  to  pour  out  in  such 
brilliant  abundance  to  bring  the  wheat  to  its 
whitest,  its  pure,  firm  perfection.  In  the 
vast  spirit  wheat  fields  which  were  shown  me, 
there  were  brothers  laboring.  In  walking  be- 
side one  of  these,  I  noticed  that  in  his  hand 
he  carried  pure,  white  food,  which  had  been 
given  him  to  eat ;  my  brother  requested  me  to 
eat,  and  then  said:  "I  shall  partake  of  a  por- 
tion myself,"  but  in  spirit.  I  asked  of  him  to 
"Eat  it  all,"  as  very  sweet  food  of  the  same 
Grain  had  also  been  given  me ;  Food  sweet 
and  rich  indeed,  but  crumbled  and  broken 
some,  by  the  vessel  in  which  that  Food  was 
being  carried  in  my  jdurney  through  the  wheat 
fields.  I  shall  eat  it.  For  the  Lord  has  bap- 
tized me ;  and,  "Where  the  Savior  leads,  I 
should  like  to  follow." 

The  wheat  in  those  wonderful  spirit  wheat 
fields  seemed  to  be  in  excellent  condition ;  full 
grown  and  well  headed  out.  The  grain  must 
be  sweet,  wholesome  and  white;  the  strong 


40  THY  KINGDOM   COME. 

winds  were  rushing  by ;  the  clouds  were  in  evi- 
dent readiness  to  move ;  all  that  spirit  wheat 
needs  to  bring  it  to  its  fullest  perfection,  "white 
and  ready  as  it  is  for  the  harvest,"  is  the 
manifestation  of  the  Light,  the  Radiant  Face 
of  God  our  Heavenly  Father,  revealed  through 
the  Shining  Countenance  of  Our  Lord  and 
Savior  Jesus  Christ.  That  manifestation  has 
been  promised  to  those  "who  seek."  "Ask, 
and  you  shall  receive;  seek,  and  you  shall 
find ;  knock,  and  it  shall  be  opened  to  you." 

"In  the  beginning  was  the  Word,  and  the 
Word  was  with  God,  and  the  Word  was  God ; 
the  Word  was  in  the  beginning  with  God ;  all 
things  were  made  by  Him,  and  without  Him 
was  made  nothing  that  was  made ;  in  Him 
was  life,  and  the  Life  was  the  Light  of  men." 


1938 


18075? 


